Thank you everyone for reviewing and waiting so patiently. This turned out to be a real bear of a chapter! It took on a whole life of its own, but it's finally here. I hope you enjoy!

She got as far as the nearest sand dune before collapsing into the grass in wracking sobs. She recalled the day she stood on the dock with Aka-Mushi and Kaneshiro as they first christened the new boat. On her little deck, Nami and Aka-Mushi had shared their last words together. Now, just like her gifted creator, The Berry Bandit was gone forever - both because of Arlong.

"What can I do now," she choked to an imaginary Aka-Mushi, "How can I possibly get that remaining 30 million without my boat?"

If you were a fish or mer-person, you wouldn't need a boat, the Aka-Mushi in her mind supplied unhelpfully.

"Thanks," she answered acridly to the empty air.

Dashing the last of her tears away, Nami got up and brushed the sand off of herself before trekking back to the dock. The saw-nosed bastard was gone as she gazed down into the dark lapping water below. Nami kicked off her shoes and dove off the side, swimming down until she reached the shallow wreckage. The girl began summarily salvaging whatever she could pull up - her tools, charts, clothes - placing them piece by piece on the dock.

Once she'd recovered whatever she could find that wasn't too heavy or completely ruined, she gathered her soaked belongings together in a large, sopping, sheet and hauled everything back upstairs to the cartography room where she deposited them on the balcony to dry out.

She placed a hand on the fat roll of cash still tucked inside her shirt pocket and thought for a long moment. Aka-Mushi's imaginary words still rang in her mind: she may not have been one, but why couldn't she make use of the fishmen surrounding her?

Without sparing a glance toward Arlong's chair (he'd only just arrived back at The Park) Nami marched all the way down to the South Gate at the end of the yard. When she ran out of walkway, she once again dove into the water, swimming past the heavy steel gate until she reached the outermost wall. Namie found who she was looking for sitting there on a small ledge, tending his multiple fishing rods.

Hachi's starfish-shaped head turned in her direction. "Nyu. Good morning Nami."

"Morning," she returned shortly, taking the ledge beside him. "Sorry for scaring away your fish."

"Not to worry; you didn't," he waived a hand, "What can I do for you?"

"I was hoping you could tell me what happened to the boat that Hitchin used when he returned with the big snail the other night - I need to use it."

"Well, I didn't think anyone would need it, and Arlong-san has a ban on boats, so I already got rid of it," the octopus man frowned, "Why don't you just use your own boat?"

"I would, except she's currently sitting at the bottom of the coastal shelf," she offered matter-of-factly.

Hachi gave her a perplexed look, "Oh? What happened?"

"I just need to get as far as the border lands so I can take a ferry to Stringers Island," she replied without answering the question.

"In that case, nyu - I can take you," he replied.

Nami started in surprise, "Are you sure - won't it interrupt your fishing?"

"Nah. I've already caught about as much as I can for the day. Here, hop into my octopus pot!"

000

From the Border Island, Nami took the ferry to Threadsville, determined not to let her lost boat prevent her from making money. Somehow, she'd figure something out; her first concern was finding another vessel.

The harbor town was bustling as usual. Nami stood for a moment, taking it in as she collected her thoughts. Her eyes scanned the numerous watercrafts populating the piers, assessing the inventory. At last, she zeroed in on one in particular - a small sloop similar to her old boat which appeared to be a satellite of one of the nearby pirate ships. Successfully swiping it out from under its crew, however, would prove her greatest challenge yet: Nami had no idea how she'd pull that off.

Casting a final wistful glance toward the harbor, she turned to leave and nearly collided with a naval officer.

"Excuse me," she blurted to the wide-eyed woman before attempting to step around her.

"Hello," replied the Navy woman, "Still a pirate, Nami?"

Nami looked back at her in confusion before abruptly recognizing her. "Warrant Officer Beckett?"

"It's Ensign Beckett now," she corrected. Indeed, Nami noticed she now wore an officer's coat.

"Oh. Congratulations on your promotion," replied Nami, unsure of what else to say.

"Thank you," the woman returned without much enthusiasm. "So, what brings you back out here? Don't tell me you're still waiting for your mom who's visiting your pirate dad."

"How about you," the orange-haired girl crossed her arms, "still busting pirate rings?"

"Something like that," sighed Beckett. "I must admit I am a bit surprised to see you; I've often found myself wondering if you were okay."

"I get by," shrugged Nami. She gave the woman a thoughtful look before offering, "Though, I am going through something of a dry spell at the moment."

"Are you," Beckett's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Well...I'm currently between boats."

Beckett stared at her, then slowly around at all the vessels in the harbor. "So, you're thinking of stealing one?"

Nami was mildly unsettled by the officer's perceptive observation but played it cool. "I've learned a few things since the last time we met, but I'm still at a major disadvantage as a lone girl in this place teeming with pirates."

"Indeed. I would've thought you'd learned your lesson about robbing from pirates."

"I don't do it as a hobby," defended the girl, "I've got a town to buy back."

"A town," frowned the confused ensign.

"I told you before: I'll do whatever I have to without the Navy's help. I meant it," Nami gazed flintily at the other woman.

Beckett, in turn, studied the teenager long and hard. "I hope you aren't relying on the word of a deplorable monster like Saw-tooth Arlong."

"Why not? I certainly can't rely on your rodent boss! I'll take a monster over the stupid government any day," the girl bristled, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Beckett called after her.

Nami halted in her steps. She looked back at the officer, "What is it?"

"I... may be able to help you get a boat."

000

Heavy boots tromped across the pier as the three pirates glanced up from their cards. The female officer stood flanked on either side by half a dozen Navy men as the group came to a halt before their small craft.

"We paid you already," barked a swashbuckler with a graying handlebar mustache, the monkey sitting on his shoulder snarled as if in agreement.

"The Navy is officially conscripting this vessel for immediate use," declared Ensign Beckett, "By order of Captain Nezumi, please deboard immediately."

"What? Like hell we will!" The largest of the men jolted to his feet, upending their makeshift table and sending playing cards scattering over the deck. "Try and make us!"

"I could arrest you all for piracy if you'd prefer, and still seize your vessel," she said flatly.

The three looked around at each other for a few stunned seconds before the towering barrel-shaped pirate sneered down at her, "Our captain isn't gonna like it when he hears you've absconded with our property, Navy bitch!"

"I'm sure you stole it when you incorporated into your fleet in the first place," remarked Beckett cooly, signaling them off as her men stood at the ready. "And I can assure you - you don't want to feel the wrath of Captain Nezumi. Now do as I say!"

Nami's heart leapt as she watched the gaudy red and pink patterned sail dipping and bobbing toward her from across the harbor accompanied by a larger Navy ship.

"I don't believe it - you actually did it," cried the girl, running down the pier to meet Beckett as she disembarked toward her in a dinghy.

"Well, you're not the only one who knows her way around pirates, I'm afraid," sighed the ensign, inviting Nami to climb into the craft beside her. "That being said, you won't be able to stay around here. In fact, I suggest you leave as soon as possible."

"That won't be a problem; I've already got a plan," Nami clasped the map tucked beneath her shirt.

The dinghy presently came to a halt beside Nami's new boat. "Please be careful," the Navy woman sighed like a weary parent.

The fourteen-year-old stuck out her tongue. "Of course, I will! I put a very high value on my own safety." She then glanced around before leaning surreptitiously toward the woman.

"Hey just so you know, I think you've got a mole inside your ranks," she said in a low voice, "There's a man on Arlong's crew who spends a lot of time around Threadsville and gets tips from the Navy."

"Hmmm. I'll have to look into that," the woman muttered noncommittally.

With no time to dwell on Beckett's enigmatic reaction, Nami gave a final wave from the sloop. "Bye! Thank you, Officer Beckett - I won't forget this!"

"Good luck," the officer called back.

It's the least I can do, considering our 16th Branch is not only offering tips to the Arlong Pirates, but directly profiting off the subjugation of your countrymen, she thought grimly, watching the small craft bearing the lone girl slowly shrink into the distance.

000

While it was a slight inconvenience having to skip town without even a chance to load up on supplies, Nami was thrilled at how quickly she'd regained mobility. A pang of sadness washed over her again as she thought of The Berry Bandit broken and ruined, but it didn't change anything. Due to their sudden departure, she found that the pirates had left behind some food and other supplies. The quality of the food was highly questionable, but she was willing to risk whatever disgusting germs the sea dogs might be carrying rather than waste time going back to Cocoyasi. She was on course for another big harbor town where she could eventually restock on whatever she needed.

More importantly, she was following the seasonal migration of several pirate crews who flocked to the temperate island of Chappalaia straight off their exploits in the northernmost waters of East Blue where they raided merchant and supply ships along the arctic routes.

Firefly Harbor was nearly as bustling as Threadsville, but had a decidedly more rustic feel with an abundance of hardwoods and rocky hills framing the industrial town. Her little sloop fit right in among the smattering of pirate vessels. Nami kept her eyes peeled for any recognizable colors, not taking long to spot her intended target.

After restocking her pantry, the girl held her nose and pulled on an abandoned jacket left by her boat's previous occupants. With the large collar pulled up high over her face, she sauntered into the crowd of pirates loading their ship and casually grabbed a sack of flour, following them. She brushed past the loudly yelling quartermaster, scarcely earning a glance, and marched along with the rest of the men straight down the gang plank into the vessel.

She took a detour as soon as she was aboard, dumping the flower behind a barrel and slipping down below deck. She passed several swabs along the way - none of which paid her any attention - until she finally made it down to the cargo area. Nami slid between stacks of casks and crates, at last discovering the chest wedged deep in the back of the hold. With one fluid movement, swiftly as she'd first swiped it off the quartermaster's belt, the thief pulled the large key from inside her coat.

The trunk was easily large enough for her to fit inside and Nami could only imagine how heavy it was. She'd seen similar styles before and knew from experience to ignore the large and very obvious keyhole in the center. Instead, her skilled hands felt along the top and sides of the opening until she tripped a secret compartment. The true lock now revealed, Nami thrust the key into it and hoisted the chest open. She took out the empty flour bag and began filling it with gold and silver coins as quickly as she could rake them into it.

She feared her bag might tear apart under the sheer weight of the metal inside, nevertheless the girl hoisted the loaded sack against her stomach and buttoned her coat snugly around it. Nami tottered quickly but cautiously back up the latter and off the ship, disappearing into the sea of people along the pier. She never ceased to be amazed at how simple robbing pirates could really be once you learned a few tricks. By the time they realized anything was missing she'd already be back on her boat heading safely home.

It wasn't her greatest haul by any means - just under five million by her estimation - but it was decent enough for a week's work. She arrived back in Cocoyasi, bringing her treasure up to the orchard with her. After burying her cache, she checked in on Nojiko only to walk into a shocking scene.

Wooden chairs lay busted over the floor while the dining table sat legs in the air in the middle of the room with cooking utensils strewn across every surface. Not a stick of furniture remained intact. Nami's heart thundered in her chest as she stumbled through wreckage of broken dishes, pots, pans and upturned furnishings, searching frantically for her sister.

"Nojiko!" Her Shouts rang through the house.

"Nami?" The older girl suddenly appeared from the hallway.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," huffed her sister, "I just got back from town to find the house in shambles!"

Nami sighed with relief to see her alive and well. "But who would do this," she demanded.

"Well, I've been looking around and I haven't noticed anything missing yet," Nojiko crossed her arms, breaking eye contact and gazing out the window.

"Nobody in the village would do this," stated Nami flatly, "so it has to be a fishman."

"Perhaps," agreed Nojiko evasively.

"Whaddya mean 'perhaps' - Nojiko, do you know more than you're saying?"

Nojiko shifted uncertainly before abruptly turning to her, "Do you realize Kuroobi thinks you tried to kill Arlong?"

"Of course he does; he always suspects me." She then frowned at the other girl, "Why? Has he said anything to you?"

"He questioned me about you a few days ago - I didn't tell him anything, obviously."

A scowl formed on Nami's face. "So, it was that son-of-a-bitch after all!"

"I think he must have been looking for something..." Nojiko trailed off.

"What exactly did he say to you," an increasingly heated Nami demanded to know.

"It was mostly just bluster," shrugged the elder sister, "but it did scare me a little how obsessed he was with getting you."

"Did he threaten you?"

Nojiko rolled her eyes, "Well, he's a fishman, isn't he? He threatened basically everyone in the whole village...It's okay, we're used to it by now."

"But he smashed up everything in your house - in Belle-Mere-san's house! What the hell did he think he was going to find?"

"It's just stuff," Nojiko reassured her, "I'm more worried about what could happen to you if the fishmen turn against you."

"Kuroobi is by far the biggest problem; I'm sorry I inadvertently sicced him on you," lamented Nami.

"It's not your fault," Nojiko insisted.

Nami pulled out what money she had left over from her travel expenses, holding it out toward the other girl, "take this for now and I'll replace whatever else it doesn't cover the next time I go out."

"It's really not as bad as it looks," argued Nojiko, waving the money away, "I can probably fix most of it myself!"

Nami, however, plonked the cash on the counter. "Let me help you clean up."

Though it made her heart sink, Nami resolved to spend as little time as possible visiting her sister for the foreseeable future. She couldn't afford to fuel the ray-man's suspicions and pull Nojiko in their feud.

"That your boat, Nami?"

She looked over to see Kaneshiro emerging from the waters near the docked pirate vessel.

"It is now," she stated, pausing on her way back to Arlong Park.

The shipwright looked like he wanted to say something. Undoubtedly, he'd already noticed his own boat sitting at the bottom. Nami suspected his feelings about the boat - the last one he and Aka-Mushi had built together - were in many ways as strong as hers. Kaneshiro's mouth worked for a moment and then slowly shut. She wondered for a split second if he might dare utter something remotely disparaging about the one who'd so carelessly destroyed his handiwork.

"I guess that works," he shrugged before turning away and lumbering down the beach.

"Yeah, I guess so," grumbled Nami, turning back toward her own destination.

"Well, look who managed to find her way back after all," snarked Arlong at her entrance.

Nami wanted to spit in his eye. Instead, she smirked back. "Yeah, that was a nice trick you pulled - smashing my boat. But as usual, I'm too smart for you!"

A smattering of fishmen joined in the laughter.

"What's your hurry, Nami? Have a drink and tell us who you screwed over this time..."

000

The months passed as Nami gradually - and at times painfully - added to her millions. She turned fifteen on the open sea while hauling in another 7 million from one of the busiest pirate routes in East Blue. Her first major success since the Oykot heist, she'd managed to get in with a disgruntled pirate set on breaking away to start his own crew while peeling off several of his mates. Nami had convinced him of her interest in joining the new crew and together in a seedy bar, they'd planned to steal a stash of valuable jewels belonging to the captain to put toward their new beginning.

several days later found Nami booking her way back on yet another stolen vessel with the jewels and her fellow conspirator's wallet traveling with her. Not every voyage was as successful; occasionally she came back with much less. Overall, however, she found herself making steady progress.

She set out once again - this time for a small coastal town which ordinarily wouldn't have caught her attention. However, the girl had passed near the same town more than once where she'd noticed the same conspicuously large ship docked off the coast. The auspicious craft had appeared strangely out of place sitting outside the seemingly insignificant village - enough to convince Nami it had to belong to pirates.

Nami reached her destination, uncertain of what exactly she would find once she entered the town. Along the thoroughfare, small homogenous houses lined the street like rows of building blocks, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary. A stretch of stores and municipal buildings lead her further into the heart of the town which grew grimier as she walked. She began to notice the usual pirate hallmarks: property damage, broken glass and discarded barrels, drunks sparring in the street.

From somewhere off in the distance, gunshots rang through the sky. Nami looked up a narrow street leading to a large rundown establishment at the top of a hill. The multi-storied structure had many windows with a balcony stretching across the entire front. Shouts and loud music drifted down into the valley from the building, alerting Nami exactly where to go.

By all appearances it was some sort of bar or hotel - maybe a better word was saloon. Every low life milling on the porch or passing through the swinging doors could have been a pirate. When Nami herself tried entering, she was immediately rebuffed by two large men lounging beside the door.

"Woah! Where d'you think you are right now, honey," snorted one of them, "you better go back home before your momma gets worried about ya."

"Yeah, send yer momma up here instead," bellowed the other as they both laughed her out the door.

The scowling girl was not deterred. Stomping off the porch, she quickly veered toward the back. Just as expected, she found a rear entrance. Looking in either direction, Nami scurried up to the door only to find it locked. She collapsed with a sigh against the siding and gazed moodily out at the surroundings.

Aside from a couple of other small storage buildings, the saloon stood alone at the top of a steep drop off overlooking the town and surrounding neighborhoods. The road she'd walked up was the only access to or from the summit. While she stood listening to the band play, considering her next move, the back door suddenly burst open. Nami smashed herself against the outer wall as a man with rolled up sleeves and a soiled apron tied around his waist barged past her, swearing loudly as he trudged toward the nearest shed.

Hastily, Nami jammed her foot into the closing door. She peered around the hazy back room, finding herself in a walk-in pantry that led directly to the kitchen. With nothing to lose, Nami grabbed an apron off the hook beside the doorway and stepped through.

To her left, a large woman stood at a grill flipping meat patties as sweat dripped off the end of her nose and sizzled on the hot griddle. To her right, a tall lanky boy about her own age hunched over a sink full of dirty dishes.

"Who're you," demanded the woman, glancing up at her appearance.

"Oh, I'm the new girl," she replied as she fastened her apron behind her.

"Then you're not a moment too soon," she exclaimed before pointing to a row of plates lined up along the table behind her. "Now take these orders out!"

"Welcome aboard," grinned the pimple-faced young man from the sink.

An uncertain Nami slid two plates apiece on each of her arms and walked precariously through the doorway with them. The food all looked the same to her: brown and covered in gravy. she couldn't even identify what the individual dishes were.

Her gaze scanned the crowded, noisy dining room for tables without food already on them. Haphazardly, she dropped the hot plates onto the first blank spaces she saw. No one seemed to notice any difference as they automatically dug into their slop.

As the band belted out a shanty from somewhere within the haze, the busy bar at the front of the house had no one tending it. Nami thought the angry employee she'd seen storming out earlier might be the barkeep. Pushing through the heady aroma of tobacco and stale sweat, Nami saw a woman in a negligee sitting in the lap of a very handsy seaman. Another man chased a squealing woman in lingerie upstairs to a row of rooms on the second landing. Nami had never felt surer about a place having treasure hidden on its premises.

While making quick work of the orders in several passes between kitchen and dining room, the girl continuously scanned the interior for any signs of where the loot could be stashed. She shuddered to think it could be somewhere upstairs where all the bedrooms appeared to be occupied. By the time she came back to the kitchen following her final food run, the disgruntled barkeep had returned to his station. He spared Nami a befuddled look as she passed by him but said nothing to her.

"Here," barked the cook as soon as she re-entered, "take these plates down to the captain and his officers."

Nami looked over at a new collection of dishes arrayed for her on a tray, wondering if she could even manage it without dropping everything. "Down?" she repeated in confusion.

The heavyset woman suddenly whirled on her, waving a spatula in the girl's face, "Don't make me say it again!"

"They're downstairs in the captain's suite," the boy at the sink spoke up helpfully, "it's the door at the foot of the stairway on the far-left corner of the dining room."

"Oh, ok!" exclaimed Nami, who'd thought that door belonged to the bathroom. "Thanks!"

"Sure, do you need help with that tray?"

The cook now rounded on him, "You need to quit flirting and get back to those dishes - let her do her own job!"

The dish washer's face went scarlet, and he immediately turned back to his station.

Nami stuck her tongue out behind the woman's back as she hoisted up the tray and trudged back into the dining room.

She took one slow, deliberate step at a time until she reached the door at the bottom landing. She had to balance the edge of the tray on a step in order to free her hand long enough to turn the knob, only barely avoiding spilling soup all over herself.

She walked into a spacious but stark room with a long table, around which six people sat. The man at the head of the table wore an officer's style military coat without a shirt, a wide brim felt hat cocked down over his forehead. Three others sat facing the doorway - including two men and a woman sporting a low-cut lacy blouse under a leather corset (Nami wistfully wondered whether she could pull off the same outfit). The remaining two men sat with their backs to her as the group huddled together in deep conversation.

No one made eye contact with Nami or even acknowledged her presence at all as the struggling waitress awkwardly set dishes before her officer patrons. The talking never ceased while the diners, much like the clientele upstairs, automatically began scarfing down whatever was put in front of them without bothering to see if they'd gotten what they'd ordered. Nami suspected all the food tasted the same.

Even as her wondering eye roved the surroundings, the snooping server's ears pricked at the mention of money.

"So, are we finally settled on how to divide the 8 mil?" The man in the coat asked the others between slurps.

"I guess," grumbled a man in a ten-gallon hat who sat at the end of the table twirling his enormous mustache. "I can't believe a royal ship didn't have more treasure on it!"

"There's plenty more fish in the sea," the woman replied around a large chunk of meat. "We just need to get right back out there and catch one."

"I'm already way ahead of ya," chuckled the head of the table. He slid a rolled-up parchment from his coat and spread it over the table using plates to hold the map down. "I think it's about time we made a trip to the Grand Line."

Nami immediately zeroed in on the object. Despite the mountains of marine data constantly thrown at her, she still knew very little about the Grand Line or how to enter it. She knew just from listening to the fishmen's tales that it was a region of powerful kingdoms and fabulous cities with riches the likes of which anyone from East Blue could only dream of. Even if she weren't desperate for money, she'd always wanted to travel there ever since learning of its existence.

The man in the coat glanced over at her, seeming to finally notice the snooping girl.

Nami quickly took her tray and hustled back out of the room, her mind racing.

Once she'd finished serving food, she soon found herself bombarded with drink orders from the raucous patrons. Nami made continuous trips to the bar where she had time to acquaint herself with the acerbic bartender and his relentless stream of insults for the pirates infesting his saloon. She swiftly grew to like him.

Hours slipped by as pirates meandered through the establishment. While the orders began to ebb, the fake but still exhausted employee took a break at the emptied-out bar to rest her aching feet for a few minutes.

"Here's your wages for the day," the bartender cut into her reverie, dropping some notes and a few coins onto the counter beside her. "Congratulations on handling a whole house of assholes on your own today - just don't expect the pay to reflect it."

"Thanks," she replied, scooping the money into her pocket. "So, how long have you worked here?"

"This place and I go back quite a way," he smirked into a glass as he wiped it out, "Long before it was brought down to this sad state."

Nami glanced over at pirate a passed-out in his own puke - then back to the bartender, "Is it yours?"

The bartender gave a short barking laugh, "No, it belongs to our excellent mayor. Though You don't see him around here these days - he's in Captain Prick's pocket."

"I see. So that explains your clientele."

He quirked an eyebrow at her, "Are you from around here?"

"Not the immediate area," she answered evasively.

"Well, no matter," he sighed, "you might as well take off while its quiet. Anything could happen at any time around here - as you might guess, we have a hard time keeping help."

"I can clean up," she offered, "I don't mind."

He eyed her quizzically before returning to wiping the counter, "Have it your way."

Because the kitchen was still very chaotic and she wanted to avoid any further interactions with the cook, Nami grabbed a broom and began sweeping the house floor.

She took a mental inventory of everything she'd seen in the brief minute she'd spent down in the officers' dining area while she methodically passed the broom under empty chairs. Clearly more than eating took place in the room down below her feet. She'd seen the unmistakable shape of a large chest shoved far back into the recesses where the light from the chandelier overhanging the table didn't fully reach. Later, she'd watched the occupants exit the lower room and intersperse among their crewmates.

From what she'd gleaned earlier from the snatches of conversation she'd picked up between tables, there'd been some dispute among the crew concerning distribution of riches captured on their most recent raid. Instead of immediately parsing out the booty aboard their ship, the captain had ordered it brought back to shore where it was converted into paper currency to be divvied out right before they left again for the Grand Line.

Late afternoon stretched into early evening as the sun dipped below the hill, glaring angry and orange through the arched windows. While the bartender crossed into the kitchen to speak with the cook, the gangly dishwasher came out to bus the empty tables. The band had stopped, but a handful of pirates still remained, playing cards or drinking at the tables. Some had moved out to the porch, while many others had already retired to the upstairs rooms. The blue coated captain along with his stylish female officer were among latter.

Still sweeping, Nami edged ever closer to the steps, descending until she reached the bottom.

She tried the knob first, knowing all too well it would be locked. Casting a quick glance around, she reached into her pocket. The lock was picked in a matter of seconds and Nami slid into the darkened room.

Where it not for the row of short windows along the top of the back wall, she would have been completely blind. With just enough dying light trickling down through the high panes, the girl felt her way along the furniture until she reached the chest in the back corner. Even in near total darkness, the girl had the padlock open in under five minutes.

The pirates had done a nice job neatly packing the money into a large bag for easy transport and distribution. With a grunt, Nami hoisted the sack out of the chest and lugged it toward the windows. She gazed doubtfully up at them, then back at the door she'd come through. There were no other exits, and she couldn't possibly sneak her stolen goods back up the stairs and through the dining room.

After shoving the chest beneath the window, Nami climbed up and tested the latch. The narrow window creaked opened on a rusty hinge, providing barely enough room for her to squeeze through let alone stuff a bag full of money through. She could hear the pirates' voices carrying from the porch and stuck her head out to find herself on the vacant north side of the building.

Hastily, she tossed out handfuls of cash into a pile on the ground until she could fit the rest of the sack through. The slender teen then slid herself through, shoveling the money back in its container before once again assessing her surroundings.

The narrow lane along the side of the establishment abruptly dropped off as it approached the hillside - assuring Nami once again that her only logical exit was back the way she'd come. Taking a deep breath, she walked resolutely toward the front, carrying what she hoped looked like a bag of trash.

Nami's gaze didn't falter as she stared purposefully toward the road. The pirates lounging on the porch continued with their drinking and dice games as she strode swiftly past them. Her feet found the road just as she dared to breathe again.

All at once a shout pierced the air:

"Hold it! That punk's stealing our money!"

Her glance shot over her shoulder long enough to spy the captain himself screaming from the upstairs balcony. Other pirates quickly reacted as every eye suddenly landed on her.

Clutching the bag in both hands, Nami bolted down the road as fast as her legs would carry her.

"She's just a brat," remarked one of them.

"Like I care - shoot to kill!" The captain's voice bellowed.

Nami stumbled as she tore down the steep hill. A thunder of gunfire erupted at her back. Her foot suddenly slipped, and she plummeted onto her bag, rolling the rest of the way to the bottom. Without missing a beat, she got back on her feet and kept running. The shots still rang out as she dove for the cover of the alley.

Even as she reached the dark recess between the buildings, she felt a horrible sting on her right shoulder. Nami tripped again, falling against the wall and sliding to the ground. The pain in her shoulder radiated down her arm in waves as she paused to catch her breath. She heard footsteps tromping over the pavement in the growing dusk - pirates searching the streets for her. The girl clasped her trembling arm only to feel something wet oozing steadily from beneath her sleeve.

She gritted her teeth and attempted to rally herself. "Only seven million left to go."

Footsteps echoed nearby. Nami looked over as a silhouette entered the alleyway with her. She groped behind her, and with one violent thrust, struck the pirate between the eyes with the butt of her staff. To her relief, he went momentarily down, but she had to hurry.

She emerged on the opposite side of the alley to another pirate harassing a group of civilians the next street over. A helpful man, making eye contact with her, stepped between her and the pirate, effectively blocking his line of sight long enough for her to make her escape.

"Oh, little bar wench, where are yoooooouuuuu," a mocking voice called through the darkened streets.

Nami skirted the buildings as she rushed for the cover of the surrounding neighborhood.

000

Somehow, despite the searing pain and pursuing pirates, she managed to evade capture long enough to make it back to her vessel. The moment she'd cast off and gotten to relative safety, her arm and shoulder on fire, Nami cautiously reached back to examine the bleeding rip through her shirt. She bit back a gasp as her finger brushed the bullet wound. She knew she couldn't leave it for the entire five days it would take to get home, nor were there any nearby ports to safely head to for treatment: Her bag of loot along with the jolly roger on one shoulder and bullet in the other all but guaranteed her immediate arrested for piracy. Never in her life had she wanted a stiff drink more than she did right now.

Presently, she remembered a half-empty bottle of leftover whiskey still stowed in the hold of her stolen craft. Nami retrieved it, ripping the cork out with her teeth and pouring the contents out over her shoulder.

She yelped as the burning alcohol drenched her wound. Taking a minute to recover, the shaken but resolved girl then went about gathering the necessary items.

After removing her shirt with great difficulty, Nami once again placed her finger inside the slightly numbed puncture. The pain was still immense, but not quite as bad as the first time. Groaning, she prodded around until she found a small, round object lodged deep within the tissue. Nami picked up a small knife, holding its blade to the flame of the kerosine lamp. She then took a piece of rope between her teeth. Biting down as hard as her jaw would clench, she slid the hot knife into her shoulder and began digging.

Her hand trembled uncontrollably. Just as she decided she couldn't endure it any longer, Nami felt a pop and a sudden wave of relief as the marble-sized pellet dislodged from her shoulder and clattered onto the deck. She let out a grateful sob and swiped the tears from her face as she bent down to observe the bloodied musket ball.

Her agony wasn't quite over, however; there was still one last gruesome step she needed to take. Without fully knowing what she was doing, the girl heated her knife yet again over the flame until its blade began glow red. Bracing herself, she pressed the hot metal against her still oozing wound, shrieking against the rope between her teeth.

She had no idea how successful the cauterization actually was, but she lacked all strength and fortitude to try it again. In woozy exhaustion, she swooned onto to the planks and didn't awake until dawn broke red over the sky the next morning.

The sun's early glare in conjunction with her throbbing injury roused the groggy thief back to a state of consciousness. She touched her right shoulder and winced but found that at least the bleeding had stopped. Without any bandages, Nami cut strips from the bottom of her shirt to wrap around the wound before pulling what remained of it back over her head.

"Only seven million left to go," she reminded herself again hopefully, patting the bag of money at her side. "I can earn that in no time - probably within the next month!" Tears stung the corners of her eyes at the thought. The nightmare was almost over.

After taking some food and water, Nami consulted her chart. She didn't like the look of the angry red skies ahead and deliberated over whether or not to alter course.

Her gut told her she still had time to beat the storm and take the quickest route home, but her shoulder wasn't the only thing to have taken a hit; she grew indecisive. Ultimately, she chose the longer but safer path around the storm.

Nami caught only a short bit of the squall as she followed the misty coastline of a small island. Despite the seeming absence of any trouble and the promise of only smooth sailing ahead, she felt a strange foreboding. Nami thought back on any significant information she could remember about this specific stretch of sea. She had too much data rolling around in her head, and her most recent brush with death still addled her faculties. The girl shook it off, pushing all misgivings aside to concentrate on getting back to Conomi.

Her shifting focus lighted momentarily on a long pier jutting out from a nearby coastal town, invoking a distant memory of a black and white photo. Nami's heart abruptly plummeted to her stomach as the corresponding newspaper article came to mind, and she regrettably remembered the pier's significance.

She prayed to continue swiftly on before any scheming eyes spotted her. Mercifully, there were no large ships anywhere in the vicinity - always a hopeful sign.

Just when she thought she might pass by unscathed, a stealthy ketch materialized directly from the coastal mist. Nami gaped in horror at the five figures on the deck gazing straight back at her. Her bag of money lay directly at her feet. Quickly, she kicked it into the hold and steered away, pretending she hadn't seen the other boat. Nevertheless, they were quick to pursue.

"Hey baby, where're you going? The pier's that way," called a jeering voice from the dissipating fog.

"I'm not going to your pier," she replied without taking her eyes from the horizon, "I've got no business there."

"Oh really?" The pirate shared a chuckle with his mates, "What do you think of that, boys?"

"You only think you don't have any business here," sneered another, "but nobody passes through these waters without paying tribute!"

She finally turned to meet their dark stares as they pulled parallel to her. "What's the tribute?"

"Well now, that depends," the man at the bow rubbed his stubbly chin, "it varies from person to person...but for you - a lone girl on a shabby little dinghy - I'd say 200 thousand berries is more than fair."

Nami's lip curled as she wordlessly bent over the hold and counted out twenty ten thousand notes which she held out toward the grubby pirate.

The moment the money left her grasp, the man at the bow and two of his associates suddenly swooped aboard her boat.

"You came up with that rather quickly," remarked the shabby extortionist.

"Look how pretty and new her money looks," the man to his left waved the bills in the air, "like it ain't ever been used before!"

"I wonder if she's got more," concurred the one on the right.

"I gave you exactly what you asked for," said Nami coldly.

"But first you tried to leave without paying us anything," the third pirate pointed out with a wag of his finger, "and we don't appreciate that."

The scruffy leader let out a long whistle as he lifted the bag from her hold. "Where are you going with all this money, little lady?"

The others swarmed around to get a better look as Nami was nearly knocked overboard. "Looks stolen..."

"Why do you care? I've paid you, so let me pass!"

"Well, if it's already stolen, what does it matter if we take some more," one of them laughed to the agreeable chortles of the rest.

"Look, you've got it all wrong," the girl quickly pivoted, "I don't mind sharing with you, but first let me join your crew!"

Her suggestion was met with another round of laughs. "Why should we do that? So, you can steal from us too?"

"Berries all around, boys!" Before her astonished eyes, handfuls of her money were passed around to each marauder.

Nami opened her mouth once again to plead with them, yet what emerged was something entirely unforeseen.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY TREASURE YOU BASTARDS!" Her grip flew to her bow, bringing it against the leader's head with all her might. Simultaneously, a stab of pain shot through her right shoulder. Nami shrieked.

The following moments were a blur: Nami's back collided against the deck. Her vision began to swim as an explosion of white noise filled the inside of her head. A sensation of heavy blows, like rocks pelting her, kept the balled-up teenager pinned in place. At some point, she must have lost consciousness because when she opened her eyes once again, she found herself alone, her boat drifting aimlessly out at sea.

She knew before even looking that her money was gone. Pulling herself painfully to a sitting position, Nami peered over the side of the boat into the water's smooth surface at her swollen, discolored face. Bruises covered her torso and arms as well. Nami collapsed defeatedly back onto the deck and lay there until dusk. At last, as the stars began to appear across the deepening sky, the girl mustered herself back to the task of getting home.

Although more than halfway there, the rest of the journey felt like an eternity. Nami had little in the way of medicine or first aid (ever since Arlong sank The Berry Bandit along with all of her supplies) and merely had to endure her injuries until she could reach land.

Thus, she gradually returned to the Conomi Islands, Nami barely had the energy to moor her boat. Instead of deboarding she crawled back into her cabin and fell into a fitful sleep.

Following a series of nightmares where sea kings carried her off and mauled her to pieces as demonic voices beaconed from the abyss, Nami eventually awoke in a dim room. She shifted slowly, finding herself lying on a cot, covered by a white sheet. When she turned to her right, a bandage covered her shoulder; she also found bandages wrapped across her chest and ribcage. Her adjusting eyes finally registered that she was in the sickbay at Arlong Park.

Nami sat up, wondering when and how she'd first arrived. A wave of dizziness hit her at the sudden movement, and she was forced to lie back again. While she lay puzzling, the door abruptly swung open. None other than Kuroobi himself stepped inside the small space.

Nami blinked as the ray-man dragged Renado's chair out from beneath the desk and plopped down in front of her. "Well, well - look who's going to survive after all..."

"What am I doing here," muttered Nami, "Better yet, Kuroobi, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here because I was told to check on you," replied the other, "And you're here because you showed up half dead a couple days ago, along with a bad infection setting in your shoulder."

Nami touched a hand to her forehead, noticing for the first time how feverish it felt.

"It doesn't appear you'll be going anywhere for a while," the fishman calmly observed. "In fact, after nearly getting yourself killed this time, Arlong-san probably won't permit you to travel anymore. So, you might as well get comfortable 'cause you're going to be seeing a lot more of the cartography room."

"That's a lie," Nami stared daggers at him. "Arlong made a deal with me; he's not going to keep me from getting treasure."

"There was never anything in that agreement about you having the right to sail across the sea - I know. I was there." He smiled nastily down at her. "It looks like you'll have to steal your riches closer to home from now on. I suggest you start at your sister's house - she seems to be doing quite well with her tangerine business."

Nami's eyes flashed at his casual mention of raiding Nojiko's possessions. "Shut up, Kuroobi - you're full of shit! I won't believe a word of it until I hear it straight from Arlong's mouth!"

She reached for a medicine bottle on a nearby tray and flung it at him. "Get out!"

The bottle bounced harmlessly off his chest and clattered to the floor.

Kuroobi snickered as he rose to his feet. "No problem. Have a nice long rest, Nami; you're going to need it."

The girl sank weakly back to the cot as the door shut behind him. Trembling in the darkness, she stared up at the ceiling - a prisoner back in her cell. No doubt Kuroobi wanted to mess with her head, but she was still too fragile to completely dismiss his comments.

Were it true that Arlong planned to revoke her traveling privileges, she really would have no reason to keep living. She could never abide spending the rest of her days making charts for the man who'd murdered Belle-Mere so that he could destroy the lives of millions more.

The bottle she'd thrown at Kuroobi now lay useless where it had landed. Nami wondered what its contents were. She shut her eyes tightly against her spiraling thoughts. Yet the darkness held sway.